AuthorTopic: Which law schools should I apply to? (Read 1218 times)

Hello!I graduated in 2005- GPA was 3.66, Phi Beta Kappa.Been working since graduation (presently a paralegal at a law firm).I would really like to stay in NYC.Unfortunately, I forsee (from my practice tests, etc) getting around a 145 on the LSAT (if Im lucky).What schools in NYC should I apply to? Which ones should I not even bother with?BTW, I am also a minority.Thank you!

You need to take a class or hire a tutor for the LSAT. With a 145 you're barely going to get into Cooley; I plugged your numbers into their formula and you come out just barely ahead of their minimum admissions criteria.

You're going to need twenty more points to get into a good school. The LSAT's very learnable, but you probably should think twice about even taking it if you know you're going to get about a 145.

Thank you to all who replied.I am indeed taking a prep class (it starts Sept 1st and ends the week before the LSAT) but I'm trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up, which is why I think I may get around a 145.So basically you are all saying if I get around a 145 I have no chances? Not even at St. John's? Or Hofstra?

You definitely want to raise your LSAT to give yourself a better chance at good schools in the NY area. Try looking at the Powerscore Logic Games and Logical Reasoning bibles in addition to doing all the work your prepcourse gives you. What materials are you using now?

Thank you to all who replied.I am indeed taking a prep class (it starts Sept 1st and ends the week before the LSAT) but I'm trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up, which is why I think I may get around a 145.So basically you are all saying if I get around a 145 I have no chances? Not even at St. John's? Or Hofstra?

Thanks again for the help!

No, you'll have chances. Especially being a minority. (Unless by minority you mean Asian; Asians don't get much of a bump, if any).

this guy got into Cooley, IU-I, UDM, Nova, and a couple others with a 141 average.

The thing is, if you can get that score up 10 points you'll have better opportunities. If you can get up into the 150s you'd have a shot at some lower Tier 1s or Tier 2s.

If you can get that score up just ten points and you're hispanic, native american or black, you're going to be much better off than you will be with a 145. I mean no disrespect to Cooley, Nova or any of the other T4 schools but your employment prospects are going to be better out of American than they are out of Cooley.

If you can't get your LSAT up into the 150s before September, you're better off postponing for a year, getting some WE and trying again next year.

To the OP, def get your score up. Cracking the 150's is VERY do-able once you put some work in. On one of my early diagnostics I hit 150 exactly and I didn't finish ANY section, got 9 out of 22 correct on the logic games, and 12 wrong on one of the LR sections. If you can do that and crack the 150's, you can easily get a 155 on the REAL thing. At first the LSAT is super humbling and dispiriting, but after practice the LSAT stops looking so impossible.

Thank you to all who replied.I am indeed taking a prep class (it starts Sept 1st and ends the week before the LSAT) but I'm trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up, which is why I think I may get around a 145.So basically you are all saying if I get around a 145 I have no chances? Not even at St. John's? Or Hofstra?

Thanks again for the help!

No, you'll have chances. Especially being a minority. (Unless by minority you mean Asian; Asians don't get much of a bump, if any).

this guy got into Cooley, IU-I, UDM, Nova, and a couple others with a 141 average.

The thing is, if you can get that score up 10 points you'll have better opportunities. If you can get up into the 150s you'd have a shot at some lower Tier 1s or Tier 2s.

If you can get that score up just ten points and you're hispanic, native american or black, you're going to be much better off than you will be with a 145. I mean no disrespect to Cooley, Nova or any of the other T4 schools but your employment prospects are going to be better out of American than they are out of Cooley.

If you can't get your LSAT up into the 150s before September, you're better off postponing for a year, getting some WE and trying again next year.

Your employment opportunities out of American are going to be good regardless. But I'm biased, from going there.

Apply to UDC, or whatever the equivalent is in NY. If you can get into a school like that (should be possible if you can bump your LSAT up a bit, and have something on your resume that helps, i.e. diversity, leadership exp.) your employment chances will be pretty good to get into an adequate firm, assuming you don't @#!* up in law school.

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